If the US financial sector were a country it would be the fifth-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, says a new study.
The policy institute Center for American Progress and the environmental organisation Sierra Club claim their work shows 18 of the largest banks and asset managers in the US were responsible for financing the equivalent of 1,968 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2020.
That figure would rank the financial sector just below Russia‘s estimated total of 1,990 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and ahead of Indonesia which emits 1,700 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to the report.
The analysis, carried out by climate solutions developer South Pole, used a carbon accounting process that calculated the total carbon dioxide emissions linked with the lending and investment activities of the US financial sector.
Ben Cushing, Campaign Manager for the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign: “Wall Street’s toxic fossil fuel investments threaten the future of our planet and the stability of our financial system and put all of us, especially our most vulnerable communities, at risk.”
Andres Vinelli, Vice President of Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress, commented: “Climate change poses a large systemic risk to the world economy. If left unaddressed, climate change could lead to a financial crisis larger than any in living memory.”
